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Assassin (Fate/midsummer)
| Engvoice = | type = |jspirit= テベスのスフィンクス |master= Wataru Nightow |class= Assassin |alignment= Chaotic Neutral |phantasm= EX |strength= C+ |endurance= B |agility= A |mana= A |luck= E |cskill1= Presence Concealment |cskill1value= D |skill1= Child of Nature |skill1value= C++ |skill2= Wisdom of the Demon Gods |skill2value= B- |skill3= Aptitude for Slaughter |skill3value= A |np1=Riddle of the Sphinx |np1target=Anti-Unit |np1rank=B |np2=Living Image |np2rank=C+ |np2target=Anti-Unit (Self) }} |qualclasses = | height = 170 cm | weight = 54 kg | gender = Female | hairc = Black | eyec = Aqua | birthp = Egypt | bloodt = Unknown | armament = Khopesh, xiphos | likes = Puzzles, modern literature | dislikes = People who believe in their own intelligence | talent = Puzzle creation | enemy = | sizes = B83/W54/H76 | imagecol = Black }} is the Assassin-class Servant of Wataru Nightow in the Phantasmal Holy Grail War and the main heroine of Fate/midsummer. Profile Identity Assassin's True Name is that of the |Sufinkusu no Tēbai}}, a hybrid of two Phantasmal Beasts who retains a great connection with the Reverse Side of the World due to this heritage. Set as a curse upon the city of Thebes, she is one whose legend emerges from two cultures, each immersed in the Age of the Gods. Background Born with the proper name of , the exact identity of her parents is unknown even to her. Generally speaking, the Sphinx is believed to be the child of Orthrus, the infamous two-headed dog slain by Heracles, and either Echidna or the Chimera. In some iterations of her legend, the primordial goddess of Ceto is her mother. No matter who her parents are, she was born in the form of a human, cursed as a demon of calamity and destruction and unique among her kind due to her nature. From an early age, she developed an acute interest in games and puzzles, looking into them and often observing the doings of man in such matters. This would become her trademark, and though she was an existence that was separate from both man (due to her nature) and monster (as a result of her body), she felt that through these topics she could bridge the gap in both directions. Her intelligence quickly developed, and along with it her strength and prowess. Alas, it was not to be. Assigned as the guardian of the city of Thebes, she was to be condemned of a life of taking that of others. Acting the part of a loyal guard, she would confront all those who approached the city's gates. She would test them before entering, requiring that they answer a riddle or two of hers before being allowed to pass. This childlike expression of her desire to become closer to others quickly became her trademark; the riddle is generally recorded as being ""Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" to which the answer is "Man". If they managed to solve that, she claims to have allowed them to pass, but on rarer occasions she asked a second one for the purpose of further qualification. This one went: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?". For this, the answer was "day and night". While today such phrases are so common as to have become cliché, at the time they were notable for their difficulty. A majority could not hope to answer correctly, and driven by her duty, the Sphinx slaughtered them offhandedly. Rumors persist that she devoured her victims as well, but Phix herself does not confirm or deny such allegations. As a born-human with the nature of a beast, it came as such second nature that she only recalls it as routine. The constant death of those who attempted to reach the city cemented her title as a beast of calamity and chaos. It was a lonely life, the kind that offered no reward nor companionship. For one who always in the back of her mind desired this to some extent, it was a fate worse than death. And yet, over and over again she requested an answer, received none, and took another life. There was simply no choice available to her - the power which had ordered it was too great for her deny. And yet, that desire only grew as time went by. She indulged in "petty indulgences", garnering information about the world of man through observation or discussion with those who approached the gate. The wing ornaments upon her head are said to have been crafted as a simple arts-and-crafts project, done out of boredom between travelers. However, having heard the idea that men are those who create things beyond that of animals, she wore them with proud, as a sign that she was still connected, however thinly, to the world of men. She also frequently stole things from those that she killed, using the various books and scrolls to further expand her knowledge. Riddle-creation became a favorite pastime of hers, fueled by the informations she received from her victim's belongings. Despite this and other such ventures, her killings and resulting loneliness began to gnaw more and more upon her. She, whose entire purpose of birth was to kill, no longer had any desire to. As such the arrival of a man known as Oedipus was an almost literal godsend for her. Like countless others, the Sphinx posed the first riddle to him. He answered correctly, seemingly without any effort and with an edge of cockiness. Shocked and feeling hope at the prospect of escaping her situation for the first time, she proceeded to throw the second one at him. This he also received coolly and with composure, answering as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Stunned at having finally been bested, she thanked him profusely, but he simply ignored her and went on his way, insulting her one last time as a "monster" before passing out of sight. These final words were the breaking point, and all at once the Sphinx realized that she could never be free, that the stigma of being a demon couldn't be erased. Nothing awaited her after defeat, save for being hunted and killed by more heroes of Oedipus' ilk. Companionship, togetherness with either man or beast, was never to be hers. Giving into despair, Phix stepped off the high rock that had been her home and prison for most of her life and fell to her death, impaled on sharp stones located below. Her death marked the end of the primordial Gods' time and the rise of the Olympian gods. Safely ensconced in his city, her defeater would further the spread of tales that identified her as a monster, even taking her human body away and replacing it with something that truly fit the ideal of a monster he saw her as. Dead, she would become something that could not be described as a Heroic Spirit, but more along the lines of an anti-hero; even then, that is not an entirely accurate portrayal. Despite her heritage and connection to it, her death prevented her from retreating to the Reverse Side of the World and allowed her to be summoned as a Servant. Creatures akin to her have appeared in history since her death, largely in the myths of Egypt, but in Greece she was remembered forever as the one and only Sphinx. Appearance Despite being born of two monsters and being depicted as such, Assassin's true form is that of a human. She is described as being similar to Atalanta in that she can be called "a beautiful beast in human form". Claiming that later depictions of her in myth and legend were distortions crafted in order to cement her status as a monster (a label she does not deny), Assassin instead appears as an uncommonly lovely young woman (to the point where Wataru briefly wonders if it was her appearance that first halted people who approached Thebes), with a willowy and lithe build complimented by a fair (if slightly tanned) complexion. She has rather rough and long black hair, extending down to or slightly above the small of her back. This roughness seems most pronounced in her bangs, which are more jagged in nature, though they possess a noticeable sense of culture, as if she styled her hair this way on purpose. Despite being human in form and in many ways function, Assassin still retains the feeling of her myth: a guarding monster out to kill and eat any intruders. While this usually manifests as a general aura when in combat, it can also be seen in her aqua-colored eyes, which at times appear akin to those of Gilgamesh's in their "primal monstrosity", though they notably lack the feeling of venom present in those of the King of Heroes. In more comedic moments, she has been shown to possess a small canine tooth in the right side of her lower jaw; it does not appear when in her normal, serious state. As a Servant, Assassin dons a form-hugging pitch-black bodysuit, exposing only her fingers and parts of her hands and accompanying palms, stopping just before the point where her neck meets her head. Her feet remain entirely covered, and while thin enough that it doesn't hinder her moments, the garment can apparently take some amount of damage from "average" attacks without fraying. As a further reflection of her legend, Assassin appears to wear very light pieces of armor on certain areas of her body, generally of a marble white color with a shimmering golden trim. The Sphinx of legend was said to be composed of a lioness' body, an eagle's wings, and a serpent's tail, as well as the head of a woman; these are reflected by the armor's design. While there are a goodly amount of more miscellaneous pieces present, the most common portrayed are a chest plate with the a combined design of lioness head and eagle wings covering her chest and part of her stomach, a snakelike belt and neck guard, and boots that incorporate the same theme as the breastplate but with a focus on claws and talons rather than wings and head. This design is repeated on small vambraces she wears on her forearms. Ornaments akin to the wings of an eagle are almost always present on her head, located between her slightly pointed ears and the top of her cranium. This armor appears to be a fusion of Greek and Egyptian armor-smithing techniques, matching her divided mythology. She also possesses a back guard of some kind, somewhat akin to the breastplate, where two incredibly thin sheaths are located. Emerging from these are the hilts of her two main weapons aside from her Noble Phantasm: a khopesh and a xiphos. These sheaths appear to share a snake aesthetic along with the waist and neck armor. While chaotic in theme, the exquisite design of this armor is such that it fits perfectly with the bodysuit beneath and with its own self. It is a uniform that manages to catch the eye, providing the grace and majesty often required for a Heroic Spirit, while also managing to appear somewhat subdued compared to others due to its owner being far from a hero in any traditional sense. Through her Master's efforts, Assassin also acquires a set of casual clothing which she wears whenever not actively in battle or hunting for enemies. While her hair and wing ornaments remain untouched, she now wears a comfortable and complimentary white trench coat of a white/lightish tan color, a belt of the same color (albeit with a gold trim) wrapped around her waist. A lightish-black and larger-than-normal bow rests at a diagonal angle on the front of one of her shoulders. These are enhanced by a set of black stockings that reach up to only a small bit past her knees, stopping an inch or two from a simple black skirt. When indoors or in warmer weather, Assassin instead dons a light gray cashmere sweater and a simple set of dark cropped pants. Often, the bow from her main outfit will return and be in the same place. A set of thin-framed glasses is sometimes added to this ensemble, as well as an occasional multi-patterned black scarf over the trench coat's collar. Personality Relationships Role ''Fate/midsummer'' Abilities The Sphinx fights in a very natural and animalistic style, using her hands and feet instead of traditional weapons. Rather than ordinary punches and kicks, however, she claws and scratches at the target with great force or pounces and strikes at them in a very feline manner. An efficient killer from birth, she aims for one-strike kills in succession, like a snake; each strike is calculated to pierce through a vital area, render it bruised beyond use, or utterly shattered from the force. In combat she tends to move around the battlefield rapidly, at times on all fours, using every surface as a potential staging area and to her advantage. Speed is the Sphinx's most notable trait in ordinary combat; at top speed, she appears to blur, leaving afterimages and often being mistaken for being capable of teleportation. Her battle stance is often crouched over, all limbs lightly touching the ground, in order to lunge and otherwise maneuver at a moment's notice. She has no compunction with using her teeth in battle, sinking them into targets if it proves opportune. Skills Noble Phantasm Development Creation and Concept The use of the Sphinx of Thebes as a Servant was initially hypothetical, as an idea for Hakuno Kishinami's Berserker-class Servant during the Moon Cell Holy Grail War of Fate/Extra CCC. ''Liking the character concept, Ryuku Fukui developed her further and eventually decided to use her in the collaberative work ''Fate/Fools★Gold. ''Still loving the idea of her and wanting to put her more in the spotlight, the author made her Wataru's Servant in ''Fate/midsummer. Aspects of her character (from appearance to personality) were permanently modified in the transition. Quotes Trivia References Category:Zeon1 Category:Characters Category:Heroic Spirits Category:Servants Category:Assassin-class Servants Category:Female Category:Fate/midsummer